Mah Jongg

DevilishGames took the oldest arrangement in the genre, the turtle, and left it alone. Traditional tile faces, no theme layered on top, no story wrapped around it, just the shape and the pairs.

Levels chain together and the run continues until the clock beats you, so the board is not a single puzzle but a sequence: combine tiles of the same type, finish the layout, receive the next one, and keep going while time remains. That framing rewards a rhythm rather than deep deliberation over any one board. Mahjongg Candy lays the same tiles out in another silhouette.

The build handles touch as well as a mouse, which puts it in a small group among the older turtle layouts on this site, most of which were made for a cursor and never adapted. The Titans board uses the matching rule on a differently drawn set.

Tile faces are the classic circles, bamboo and characters, so if you have played the arrangement before you already know where a board goes wrong: the shell in the centre holds four tiles on its crown, and everything you want tends to be underneath them. Farm Mahjong keeps the layered board and changes the shape.

1. Start with the head, the tail and the legs, which are already free to take.
2. Pair tiles of the same type when they are uncovered and open on one side.
3. Peel the central shell in layers, not by digging one narrow hole.
4. Finish the layout before time runs out to continue to the next level.

• The crown blocks four — the tiles capping the shell are the ones stopping the middle of the board.
• Keep a spare pair in hand — leaving one easy match unspent gives you a move when the board tightens.
• Learn the circle suit — the dotted tiles are the ones players misread at speed.
• Full screen suits the turtle — the layout is wide, and the legs get cramped in a small window.
• Move steadily — because levels chain on one clock, slow boards cost you the later ones.